Dispensing valve and operating means for beverage vending machines



Dec. 4, 1956 J J BOOTH DISPENSING VALVE AND OPERATING MEANS FOR BEVERAGEVENDING MACHINES Filed March 26, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l JACK J BoomINVENTOR.

A TMRNE'Y 1956 J. J. BOOTH 2,772,812

DISPENSING VALVE AND OPERATING MEANS FOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES FiledMarch 26, 1952 a Sheets-Sheet 2 A T TORNE Y Dec. 4, 1956 J. J. BOOTH2,772,312

DISPENSING VALVE AND OPERATING MEANS FOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES FiledMarch 26, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 J/Ic/r J 8007/4 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent C) DISPENSING VALVE AND OPERATING MEANSFOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES Jack J. Booth, Dallas, Tex.

' Application March 26, 1952, Serial No. 278,721

- 6 Claims. (Cl. 222-70) This invention relates to timing devices andmore particularly to a timing device for a drink vending machine.

'This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application,Serial Number 230,779, filed June 9, 1951, now patent No. 2,747,782 fora Machine for Vending Beverages in Cups. The machine there describedin-- cludes a source of carbon dioxide under pressure, a syrupcntainer,and a refrigerated carbonator, the carbon dioxide forcingcarbonated Water and syrup to a mixing and dispensing valve. A timingdevice is employed which opens the valve for a predetermined period oftime during each dispensing operation. The present invention relates to"a new and improved form of the timing device. It is desirable that thetiming device be simple in form and operation in order that wear ofmoving parts be reduced thus reducing maintenance and repair servicing.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a newandimproved device for dispensing a predetermined quantity of liquid.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improvedtiming device.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a newa'ndimproved timing device for holding a valve open for a predeterminedperiod of time in each cycle of .operation.

I Briefly stated, the new and improved timing device maybe used in adrink dispensing machine in which syrup and carbonated water are mixedin a mixing and (dispensing valve and then discharged into an open cup.The mixing valve has a pivoted actuating lever which :opensthe valvewhen moved to an actuating position. 'The timing device employed to movethe actuating lever to actuating position and hold it in the actuatedposition for a predetermined period of time each time a manuallyoperated handle is turned includes a dash pot assembly having areciprocable rod which is pulled outwardly from the dash pot each timethe handle is operated. The reciprocable rod moves inwardly at a speeddetermined by the dash pot after it is released for return movement. Therod is provided with gear teeth which mesh with pinion gear to which issecured a cam which contacts and moves the actuating lever to actuatedposition. The structural and operational relationship between the camand the rod is such that the actuating lever is held in actuatedposition only while the rod is in a predetermined portion of its returnmovement.

i For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had tothe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Figure [is a front plan view of a drink dispensing machine,'with itsfront door open, provided with the new .andiniproved timing device;

. Figure 2 is a sectional top plan view of the mechanical linkageconnecting the, manually operated handle to the toothed rod of the dashpot;

ice

Figure 3 is a side plan view, with some parts shown in section, of thedash pot and the mixing and dispensing valve;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the mixing and dispensing valve taken onthe line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view showing the cam and the valve actuatinglever in one operative position; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side view showing the cam and the valveactuating lever in another operative position.

Referring now to the drawing, the timing device 10 is illustrated asused with the drink dispensing machine 11 described and claimed in mycopending application 230,779. The drink dispensing machine includes aninsulated cabinet 12 having a front door 13 extending across the entirewidth of the cabinet and mounted on the cabinet by hinges 14. The door13 has a central opening closed by a panel 15 which is mounted on thedoor by a hinge 16. The panel 15 has a coin slot, not shown, throughwhich coins may be inserted to operate a conventional coin actuatedmechanism 17 having an operating shaft 18 which can be rotated throughninety degrees by means of a handle 19 each time a coin is inserted intothe coin operated mechanism 17. A linking mechanism 20 connects theoperating shaft 18 to a cup dispensing mechanism 21 which drops thelowermost cup from, a vertical stack of cups stored in an appropriatespace or magazine 22 in the door onto a platform 23 which is accessibleto the customer through a suitable aperture, not shown, in the panel 15.The linking mechanism 20 and the cup dispensing mechanism 21 have beendescribed in detail in the copending application and,

since they form no part of the present invention, will not, therefore,be described further.

The operating shaft 18 is also connected to the timing device 10 whichholds open a mixing and dispensing valve 24 for a predetermined lengthof time to deliver a predetermined qnantity of a mixture of cooledcarbonated water and cooled syrup to the cup 25 dropped onto theplatform 23. The carbonated water is supplied to the valve 24 from acarbonator 26 and the syrup is supplied to the valve from a syrup tank27. The carbonator and the syrup tank are disposed on suitable ledges 28and 29, respectively, provided in the cabinet 12 and are sup-.

plied with carbon dioxide from a bottle 30 also disposed on the ledge28. The carbon dioxide maintains the water in the carbonator 26 and thesyrup in tank 27 under pressure so that the water and syrup will beforced through the mixing and dispensing valve 24 and the nozzle 31whenever the nozzle is opened.

The water from the carbonator 26 and the syrup from the syrup tank 27are delivered to the mixing and dispensing valve 24 through the conduits32 and 33 which are connected to the nipples 34 and 35 threaded in thebores 36 and 37, respectively of the valve body 38. The bore 37communicates with the bore 36 which is enlarged y, to form a valvechamber 39. A further enlargement provides a recess 40 which receivesthe reduced end 41 of an abutting body 42 which is rigidly secured tothe valve body by screws 43 and 44. The reduced end is also providedwith a recess 45, which receives a gasket 46 which serves as a valveseat for the ball valve 47. The ball valve is biased toward the gasketby a spring 48. The abutting body 42 is also provided with a bore 49which'is enlarged at one end to form a concave recess 50 into which mayproject a portion of the ball valve. An offset bore 51 inthe abuttingbody communicates with the concave recess.

The reduced end 52 of the nozzle 31 is press fitted into the offsetbore. A reciprocable rod 53 is slidingly disposed in the bore 49 withits inner end abutting the ball valve 47 and its outer end projectingbeyond the abutting body. The rod 53 when moved inwardly displaces theball valve from the gasket and allows fluid to pass from the chamber 39to the offset bore 51 and thence through the nozzle 31 into a cup orother receptacle. The valve body 38 is rigidly secured to a supportingplate 54 by screws 55. The bodies 38 and 42 are preferably made of atransparent plastic.

Since both the water in the carbonator 26 and the syrup in tank 27 arekept under substantially constant pressure, the amount of the mixeddrink allowed toflow out of the nozzle 31 each time the rod 53 isreciprocated depends on the length of time the ball valve 47 is held'open; The proportion of syrup to water in the mixed drink is regulatedby a needle valve 56 whose inner end projects into the bore 37 throughwhich the syrup flows.

The length of time the ball valve is held in open position each time theoperating handle is actuated is controlled by the timing device whichincludes a dash pot assembly 57 having a reciprocable rod 58 providedwith gear teeth 59. The gear teeth 59 mesh with apinion gear 60 providedwith a cam assembly 61. Each time the rod 58 is reciprocated, the camassembly is rotated and engages the actuating lever 62 and causes it tomove the reciprocable rod 53 inwardly to open the ball valve 47 and holdit open for a predetermined period of time.

The valve actuating lever 62 is disposed in a slot 63 in the abuttingbody 42 and is pivotally mounted by means of a transverse pin 64 whichextends through the slot. A leaf spring 65 is secured to the lower endof the valve actuating lever by a screw 66 and its upper end contactsthe projecting end of the reciprocating rod 53. The leaf spring 65serves to open the ball'valve with a snap action. The closing pressureof the liquid in the chamber 39 on the ball valve 47 is greatest whenthe ball valve is closed so that when the valve actuated lever ispivoted toward the reciprocating rod 53, the spring 65 yields as itsfree upper end contacts the outer end of the reciprocating rod. Thespring continues to bend until enough force is exerted on thereciprocating rod to move the ball valve slightly. This slight openingcauses the closing force of the liquid pressure to decrease suflicientlythat the spring 65 snaps the ball valve open. Snap opening of the ballvalve is desirable since the carbonated mixture tends to form foam as itflows past small openings such as that formed by theslow opening of theball valve.

Theslot 63 is closed by a spring member 66a which is held in place bythe screws 43 and 44. The spring member has an extension or leaf spring67 which con tacts the upper end of the valve actuating rod 62 to limitits outward pivotal movement. The upper end of the actuating rod 62 iscut away at a bias to form the inclined surface 68. The upper end of theactuating rod is contacted by the cam assembly 61 each time the rod 58is actuated and is pivoted thereby first outwardly as shown in Figure 7and then inwardly as shown in Figure 8.

The cam assembly includes a fixed cam member 69 rigidy secured to thesleeve extension 70 of the pinion gear 60 and a movable cam member 71which may be held in any desired position on the sleeve extension by theset screw 72. The outer arcuate surfaces of the cam 1 members 69 and 71are of the radius and, therefore, lie

in the same cylindrical plane. The pinion gear 60, and its sleeveextension 70, is rotatably mounted on a pin 73 which is journaled in thesupporting plate 54 and a bracket extension 74 formed by bending anelongate strip integral with the plate back on the plate. The pin isheld in place by retaining rings 75 and 76.

A grooved roller 77 is rotatably mounted on the bracket extension 74 bymeans of a post 78 having a reduced threaded end 79 which extendsthrough a'suitablaperture in the bracket extension. A washer 80 and nut81 on the end 79 hold the post in place. The roller 77 serves to supportthe rod 58 as it is reciprocated.

The rod 58 is caused to move inwardly, or to the right as seen in Figure3, by the strong spring 82 disposed between the stopper 83 closing oneend of the cylindrical shell 84 of the dash pot assembly 57 and thepiston 85 rigidly secured to the inner end of the rod 58. An annularpacking 86 abuts the piston 85 and is held securely between the pistonand a retaining member 87 which is threaded in a suitable bore 88 in theinner end of the rod 58. The retaining member has a central bore 89which communicates with the bore 88 in order that the fluid in the dashpot may pass from one side of the piston to the other through the bores89 and 88 and the transverse bore 90 which communicates with the bore88. The packing 86 has an outwardly extending annular flange 91 whichengages the interior surface of the cylindrical shell 84. The stopper 83has a threaded flange 91a which engages the threaded end 92 of thecylindrical shell and a flange 93 which holds a gasket 94 against theend of the cylindrical shell to seal against fluid leakage. A gland nut95 threaded in an enlarged portion of the central bore of the stopper 83compresses a packing 96 to seal against fluid leakage between thestopper 83 and the rod 58. The opposite end of the cylindrical shell 84is closed by an annular member 97 secured to the shell by welding,soldering or in any other conventional manner. The dash pot assembly issecured to a lug 98 integral with the supporting plate 54 by a screw 99which extends into a suitably threaded bore in the annular member 97.

The cylindrical shell is filled with a non-compressible fluid such asthat employed in hydraulic brake systems. The rod 58 can be movedreadily against the resistance of the spring 82 since the outwardlyextending flange 91 of the packing 86 will flex inwardly and allow fluidto move past it and the shell 84 as the piston 85 is moved to the left(Fig. 3). Fluid will also pass through the bores 90, 88 and 89. When therod 58 is released to move inwardly under the force exerted by thespring 82, however, the outwardly extending flange 91 will preventpassage of fluid between it and the cylindrical shell. The speed ofinward movement of the rod 58 will therefore depend on the size oforifices of the bores 90, 88 and 89 since the liquid in the cylindricalshell must move from one side of the piston to the other to allow thepiston to move toward the annular member 97. This is the conventionalmanner of operation of dash pots and will not, therefore, be dwelt onfurther.

As the rod 58 is moved to the left, its teeth cause the pinion gear torotate clockwise, as seen in Figure 3, and the cam member 69 willcontact the surface 68 of the actuating lever 62 and will move it to theleft, the leaf spring 67 yielding to allow this pivotal movement of theactuating member. The actuating lever is then held in the position shownin Figure 7 until the cam members 69 and 71 are rotated to a positionsuch that the end 100 of the cam member 71 is moved past the actuatinglever. The leaf spring 67 will then move the actuating lever back to theposition shown in Figure 3. When the rod 58 is next released for returnmovement, the end 100 will contact the outer side of the actuating leverand will move it toward the rod 53. After the end 100 moves past theactuating lever, it will be held in the position shown in Figure 8 bythe arcuate outer surfaces of the cam members until the end 101 of thecam member 69 moves past the upper end of the actuating lever. Theactuating lever will then be free to return to the position shown inFigure 3. The spring 48 and the pressure of the fluid will close theball valve when the actuating lever is freed to move to its inoperativeposition.

It will be apparent that'the speed of rotation of the pinion gear 60,-and therefore of the cam assembly 61, during return or inward movementof the rod 58 is predetermined and held constant by the'dash pot. Thelength of time the actuating lever is held in valve opening position istherefore determined by the degree of alignment of the movable cammember 71 with respect to the fixed cam member 69. If the cam membersare perfectly aligned so that ends 100 and 102 and the ends 101 and 103are in line, the actuating lever will be held in valve opening positionfor a short period of time during each reciprocation of the rod 58;Conversely, if the movable cam member 71 is rotated on the sleeveextension 70 to a position wherein the end 100 is spaced from the end102, the actuating lever will be held'in valve opening position for along period of time during each reciprocation of the rod 58. It will beapparent, therefore, that the amount of the mixed drink dispensed duringeach reciprocation of the rod 58 can be regulated by adjustment of theposition of the movable cam member70,- with respect to the fixedcammember.

The rod 58 may be moved outwardly by any suitable linking mechanism eachtime the handle 19 is actuated after the deposition of a coin in thecoin operated mechanism 17. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention, the supporting plate 54 is maintained on the carbonator 26immediately in front of the cabinet door 13 by means of screws 104 sothat the nozzle 31 projects through an aperture 105 in the rear panel106 immediately to the rear of the platform 23 on which cups aredispensed to receive the drink delivered through the nozzle. The rod 58is provided with a sleeve 107 fixed to the rod by a set screw 108 andhaving an annular groove 109. When the door is closed, the bifurcatedbracket 110 is disposed in the groove 109. The bifurcated bracket isrigidly secured to the upper end of a rod 111 which extends slidablythrough a bore in a block 112 mounted on a plate 113 mounted to the rearof the coin operated mechanism 17. A stop block 114 is secured to theend of the rod 111 remote from the bifurcated bracket 110. A biasingspring 115 is disposed about the rod 111 and its ends bear against thebifurcated bracket and the block 112 to bias the bifurcated bracket awayfrom the block.

The upper end of the stop block 114 projects above the block 112 intothe arcuate path of travel of the pins 116, 117, 118 and 119 projectingperpendicularly from the gear 120 rotatably mounted on the operatingshaft so that when the gear is rotated in the indicated direction one ofthe pins 116 to 119 engages the upper end of the stop block 114 andmoves the rod 111 downward against the resistance of the spring 115 andof the dash pot spring 82. The resistance of the dash pot spring must beovercome since the bifurcated bracket 110 engages the grooved sleeve 107and will pull outwardly the rod 58. When the gear 120 is rotated throughninety degrees, the pin engaging the stop block 114 will first engagethe stop block as it moves downwardly in its arcuate path of travel andwill move it downwardly. Then the pin will begin to move upwardly as itfollows its arcuate path of travel and will disengage from the stopblock freeing the rod 111 for upward movement. This in turn will allowthe rod 115 to move inwardly under the force exerted by the spring 82 ofthe dash pot.

The gear 120 may be rotated ninety degrees each time the handle 19 isactuated by means of any suitable means linking the gear 120 to thehandle 19. Since this linkage forms no part of the present invention andhas been described fully in my copending application, it will not bedescribed further. If desired, the leaf spring 67 can be replaced by aweight or mass secured to the lower end of the lever 62 which will biasit toward its rest position shown in Figure 3.

It will be apparent now that a new and improved timing device has beenillustrated and described which includes a dash pot assembly 57 having areciprocable rod 58 provided with teeth 59 which mesh with a pinion gear60. It will be seen that a cam assembly 61 rotated by the pinion geareach time the rod 58 is reciprocated cams the actuating lever 62 of amixing and dispensing valve to open the valve for a predetermined lengthof time each time the rod 58 is reciprocated. Furthermore, it will beseen that the assembly has an adjustable cam member 71 whose positionrelative to a fixed cam member 69 may be adjusted to vary thispredetermined length of time.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be apparent that various changes and modificationscan be made without departing from the invention, and .it is intended,therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.7'

What is claimed is:

l. A mixed drink dispensing machine comprising a source of carbonatedwater under pressure; a source of syrup under pressure; a mixing anddispensing valve having a body provided with a mixing chamber; meansconnecting said mixing chamber to the source of syrup; means connectingsaid mixing chamber to said source of carbonated water, said body havingan outlet opening communicating with said mixing chamber and closed by avalve; an actuating lever for opening said valve mounted on said body; amechanical timer operatively associated with said actuating lever forcontacting said actuating lever and moving it to open the valve for apredetermined period of time whereby a predetermined quantity ofcarbonated water and syrup is dispensed each time the timer is actuated,said mechanical timer including a reciprocable rod mounted adjacent saidactuating lever, said rod having a plurality of longitudinally spacedteeth, a gear rotatably mounted adjacent said rod and meshing with saidgear teeth, a cam secured to said gear for rotation therewith, said camhaving an arcuate outer surface, said actuating lever having an endprojecting into the path of movement of said cam, said arcuate surfacecontacting said lever and moving it from its rest position in onedirection as said gear is rotated in one direction, said arcuate surfacecontacting said lever and moving it in the opposite direction as saidgear is rotated in the opposite direction, means for predetermining therate of movement of said timer rod in said opposite direction; and meansfor moving said timer rod a predetermined distance in said onedirection.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said means for predetermining the rateof movement of said timer rod comprises a dash pot having a piston, saidtimer rod being secured to said piston.

3. A mixed drink dispensing machine comprising a source of carbonatedwater under pressure; a source of syrup under pressure; a mixing anddispensing valvehav-ing a body provided with a mixing chamber; meansconnecting said mixing chamber to the source of syrup; means connectingsaid mixing chamber to said source: of carbonated water, said bodyhaving an outlet open-- ing communicating with said mixing chamber andclosed: by a valve; an actuating lever for opening said valve: mountedon said body; a mechanical timer operatively associated with saidactuating lever for contacting said. actuating lever and moving it toopen the valve for a pre-- determined period of time whereby apredeterminedt quantity of carbonated water and syrup is dispensed eachtime the timer is actuated, said mechanical timer including areciprocable rod mounted adjacent said actuat-- ing lever, said rodhaving a plurality of longitudinallyspaced teeth, a gear rotatablymounted adjacent said rod. and meshing with said gear teeth, a camsecured to saidi gear for rotation therewith, said cam comprising twoadjacent sections, one being adjustable with respect to the other, saidsect-ions having aligned outer arcuate surfaces, the combined length ofsaid arcuate surfaces being adjustable by adjustment of said movablesection, said actuating lever having an end projecting into the patlr ofmovement of said cam, said arcuate surface contacting said lever andmoving it from its rest position in one; direction as said gear isrotated in one direction, said arcuate surface contacting said lever andmoving it im the opposite direction as said gear is rotated in the op- 7posite direction, means for predetermining the rate of movementof'saidtirnerrod in 'saidopposite direction; and meansforimovingsaidtimer rod a'predetermine'd distance in said one direction;

4. The device of claim 3 in which said means for predeterminin'g therateof movement of said timer rod comprises a dash po't'having a piston,said'timer rod being'secured to'said piston.

5. A mixed" drink dispensing machine comprising a source of'c arbonatedwater under pressure; a source of syrup under' pressure; a mixing anddispensing valve having a body provided with a mixing chamber; meansconnecting said mixing chamber to a source of syrup; means connectingsaid mixing chamber to said source of carbonated water, said body havingan outlet opening communicating with said mixing chamber and closed by avalve; an actuating lever for opening said valve mounted on said body; amechanical timer operatively associated with-said actuating lever forcontacting said actuating lever andmoving it to open the valve for apredetermined periodof time whereby a predetermined quantity ofcarbonated water and syrup is dispensed each time the timer is actuated,said mechanical timer including a reciprocable rod mounted adjacent saidactuating lever, said rod having a plurality of longitudinally spacedteeth, a gear rotatably mounted adjacent said rod and meshing with saidgear teeth, a cam secured to said gear for rotation therewith, said camhaving an arcuate outer surface, said actuating lever having an endprojecting into the path of movement of said cam, said arcuatesurfacecontacting said lever and moving it from its rest posi-- tion in"onedire'ction as said gearis rotated in one direction, means biasingsaid lever in the opposite direction towardsaid restposition; saidarcuate surface contacb' ing said lever and moving it in the oppositedirection as said gear is rotated in the opposite direction, meansforpredetermining the rate of movement of said timer rod in saidopposite direction; and means for moving said timer rod a predetermineddistance in said one direction.

6. The device of claim 5 in which said means for predetermining the rateof movement of said timer rod comprises a dash pot having a piston, saidtimer rod being secured to said piston.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

